Adirondack Rail Trail Phase 1 Officially Open!
After nearly a decade in the making, the first 10 miles of the 34-mile Adirondack Rail Trail has officially opened.
by Phil Brown
Work on the first phase of the Adirondack Rail Trail ended weeks ago, but it’s now officially open. Though it’s a little late in the year for road biking, fat-bikers, snowmobilers, snowshoers, kick-sledders, and cross-country skiers can all use the trail this winter.
Meanwhile, those with road bikes can contemplate what they have to look forward to in 2024. Bike Adirondacks plans in incorporate the trail into several 2024 events including the Adirondack Women's Weekend and Weekender at Paul Smith's College.
Built by Kubricky Construction, Phase 1 stretches 10 miles from Lake Placid to Saranac Lake. Rifenburg Construction is under contract to extend the trail another 15 miles, as far as Floodwood Road, by next October. Also next year, bids will be awarded for the final phase, which will extend the trail 8.5 miles to Tupper Lake.
“This is a year-round asset to connect the communities of Lake Placid and Saranac Lake and eventually Tupper Lake,” Basil Seggos, head of the state Department of Environmental Conservation, remarked at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Saranac Lake on December 1.
DEC manages the rail corridor and, with other state agencies, is overseeing construction of the 34-mile trail.
The rail trail now starts at Station Street in Lake Placid, a few tenths of a mile west of the history museum in the village’s old depot. However, plans are afoot to extend the trail to the museum next year.
The non-profit Open Space Institute has an option to buy 1.8 acres near the museum and intends to transfer the option to the village of Lake Placid. Kathy Moser, OSI’s chief conservation officer, told Bike Adirondacks that OSI will build a 43-car parking lot (with EV chargers), a kiosk, and pavilions on the land. The organization expects to receive $500,000 in state funding for the project but will need to raise another $300,000, according to Moser. OSI hopes work will begin in the spring and be finished next fall.
Bottom line: sometime next fall, cyclists should be able to park at the museum’s new lot and ride on the rail trail just over 25 miles to Floodwood Road. (People have been parking at the museum’s existing lot and riding along Station Street to the rail trail, even before the official opening.)
Starting in Lake Placid, cyclists follow the Chubb River more than a half-mile before crossing the river. At 0.75 miles, they cross Old Military Road, the only major road until reaching Saranac Lake. Between the two villages, the trail passes wetlands, crosses streams, and offers views of nearby peaks. Most of the trail is surfaced with compact stone dust that’s suitable for road bikes. Within Saranac Lake, approximately 2.5 miles of the trail is paved through the village.
Cyclists starting a ride in Saranac Lake can park at that village’s old depot or in one of two new parking lots on Route 86 just east of the village boundary (the location is known as Fowler’s Crossing). Kubricky also built a new parking lot at the depot.
The construction of Phase 1 followed years of public debate over the future of the rail corridor. Adirondack Railroad, which operated a tourist train between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake, sued in an attempt to stop the state from removing the tracks. The suit delayed but did not stop the project.
The railroad did gain a partial victory outside of court. Rail-trail proponents had pushed the state to build a trail all the way from Lake Placid to Old Forge. However, state officials opted to fix up the tracks south of Tupper Lake. As a result, Adirondack Railroad now offers excursions from Old Forge to Tupper Lake.
At the ribbon cutting, Seggos praised his predecessor, Joe Martens, for supporting the rail trail despite the controversy, but he needled him for retiring before it got built.“ Joe retired, but he retired in proximity to the rail trail,” he noted.
Martens, who lives in Lake Placid, attended the ceremony. Afterward, he said he was delighted that part of the rail trail is finally open. “Time is going to prove this was a good decision,” he told BikeADK. “It’s going to work out great for the North Country.”
Proponents predict the rail trail, when completed, will draw tens of thousands of tourists to the region.
DEC officials said it’s possible that the next two phases will be finished early. Riftenburg already has done a lot of work on Phase 2. As for the final phase, it is only 8.5 miles long and crosses no public roads. Moreover, the rail trail’s parking lot in Tupper has already been built as part of the Phase 1 contract.
Perhaps it’s wishful thinking to hope that the 34-mile trail will be finished late next year or early 2025. Sooner or later, though, the Adirondack Rail Trail will become a reality.
